By Jide Jegede
July 4, 2011 01:45AM
Mr Obasanjo lamented the growing decline in the number of farmers in the country and he called for increased incentives to farmers from the federal, state and local governments
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concern over the extent of apathy displayed by Nigerian youth in farming, warning that it poses threat to human security.
Mr Obasanjo, who spoke in Ibadan during the inauguration of Feed Africa Committee of the Centre for Human Security, also lamented the growing decline in the number of farmers in the country. To stem the tide, he called for increased incentives to farmers from the federal, state and local governments in order to attract the interest of young graduates in the trade.
He stressed the need to address the challenge of building successor generation facing the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
“We must make farming profitable by making incentives available to interested youths. Incentives must be made in the areas of land available to the interested youths and graduates of agriculture. They must have access to loans and have specialised training on the kind of crops to grow. After these have been provided, they must be sure that there is a market for their produce.”
The former president, who is also a farmer, posited that if food security is threatened in the African continent, human security is equally at great risk.
He said his firm, Obasanjo Farms Nigeria, is partnering with Delta State on a pilot project to increase awareness and improvement of skill in poultry management as well as create job opportunities and human security through the production of improved quality of animal protein-based foods.
According to him, Nigerian farmers do not get their worth in terms of treatment and recognition, saying that is why it is not attracting the youth.
“The problem now is how to build a successor generation of farmers. This is a great challenge now in Nigeria. If you go to my village, the youngest farmer is a little younger than me. How then can we ensure that the youths get into agriculture?”
He informed that the Delta State has provided the enabling environment for the partnership project, adding that for the take-off, about 150 people have already been engaged, while it will increase to thousands as soon as it takes full root.
The director of Centre for Human Security, Peter Okebukola, tasked government at all levels to formulate agricultural friendly policies and implement them in order to create employments, eradicate poverty and encourage the youth to venture into farming.
The committee has as members, Akin Mabogunje, Peter Okebukola, Isaac Adeyemi, E. Aiyelari, Olusola Oyewole, Michael Filani, Janice Olawoye (all Professors) among others.